However, Democrats are nonetheless praised to see a major party leader use the bully pulpit to defend liberal values and launch a confrontation with Republicans, specifically top GOP presidential contender Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is about as unfavored on the Left as former President Donald Trump. Newsom is likely to proceed to re-election this fall in the midterm elections, and he is viewed as a 2024 contender, especially if President Joe Biden, whose popularity ratings have dropped of late, declines to seek a second term.
“He’s making himself the opposition,” a national Democratic strategist said of Newsom.
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Democratic sources are far from sold on Newsom as a leading 2024 contender, with one party operative in California questioning the governor’s national viability. “A ton of people here just roll their eyes at him. He isn’t well-respected by the legislature and hasn’t gotten a ton done. He lacks focus — energy isn’t a replacement for strategy,” said this strategist, who requested anonymity for fear of alienating an incumbent governor on the verge of reelection.
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In other quarters of the party, however, Newsom’s liveliness is enjoying a positive reception, significantly as Democrats sour on Biden. Grassroots Democrats and some party insiders are completing the President is too old and lacks the power to wage the fight against the Republicans that the current political moment calls for. From that point of view, Newsom’s “energy” is welcome and seems sufficiently strategic.
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A Democratic operative in Washington said that the governor is “someone who’s stepping up to play some defense.” In a hidden shot at Biden, this Democrat added, “It’s not happening otherwise.”
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The President’s job approval ratings are plunging at 33% nationally in a new Siena College poll for the New York Times and 37.7% in the RealClearPolitics average. Yet most Democratic insiders interviewed for this story requested anonymity. They were reluctant to appear publicly opposed to Biden or engaged in inciting a Democratic rebellion against his administration. But if the 79-year-old President does step aside in 2024, they expect Newsom to run. The question is how strong of a candidate he might be in the primary and the general election.
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Newsom could be appealing to a liberal base longing for aggressive leadership in the aftermath of the Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade and eliminated federal protections for abortion rights. In the spot the governor aired in Florida during the July Fourth holiday, he took direct aim at DeSantis, who promotes the Sunshine State as a “free state,” not to mention Trump and Republican social policies.
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